6 SCIENCE-BACKED WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

Forgetfulness doesn't have to be an inevitable part of life. Like going to the gym to stay fit, there are habits you can adopt to keep your memory sharp

- BY DR CHRISTIAN JARRETT

Memory is the gift that guides us through life - from finding our way around to recognising our family and friends. We rely on our memories to maintain the story of who we are, allowing us to lead coherent, meaningful lives. "No memory means no rudder with which to navigate life," says Dr Kailas Roberts, a psychiatrist and author of Mind Your Brain. Given the immense value your memory holds, it makes sense to nurture, aid and protect it.

At a basic neurological level, your memories reside in the connections between neurons - in your synapses, of which you have hundreds of trillions. So it's not that your brain lacks the capacity to remember everything (researchers have found that, on average, ordinary people remember about 5,000 faces, which is plenty). It's more that lots of things you might want to remember don't make it into your long-term memory in the first place.

The good news is there's a range of techniques you can use to shift information from your brain's short-term cache to its long-term archive. In neurological terms, this involves processing them in the brain's hippocampus before they're distributed across the neocortex.

The even better news is that using these techniques - along with looking after your memory and overall health - can help keep it stronger for longer. Like any organic system, the brain undergoes cellular and chemical changes over time that can affect function and, in worst-case scenarios, can develop into dementia. Staying healthy by eating well, exercising and getting good sleep can help, but there are also some more unusual things you can do to give your memory a boost...

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